Goddess of Chance chooses a queen at Twelfth Night Revelers ball

One of the choice Carnival moments occurs at the ball of the Twelfth Night Revelers when a white-gowned young woman -- almost always a debutante of the season -- opens a tiny cake box and discovers the golden bean. Moments later, she is tapped into a monarchal mode.

Daniel Erath / The Times-PicayuneQueen Eleanor McCay Schwing and the Lord of Misrule at the 2009 Twelfth Night Revelers ball.

This year at the ball, which was held Tuesday in the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, 20 daughters of TNR members made rounds right after the oversize cake was brought onto the dance floor. Suspense mounted along with the merriment. As Miss Eleanor "Ellie" McCay Schwing, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Poynter Schwing IV, plucked the queenly bean from its packaging, she flashed a winning smile and gasps of joy. The Goddess of Chance had selected her to reign with the Lord of Misrule, the TNR king, at the 140th celebration.

Paces away, and on the front row of a section within the ballroom, was Ellie's same-name mother, Eleanor, the former Eleanor Caffery McCay and nicknamed Penny. Whereas the queen-to-be did not know her royal honor until she opened the little cake box, her mother did and beamed with delight when Ellie realized her royalty.

Prior to the raising of the figurative curtain, levity was launched at Antoine's restaurant, where the organization's membership shared companionship and a tasty repast, and elsewhere in the Sheraton, where a cocktail reception unfolded for the guests of the ball. During that hobnobbing, toasts were raised to Miss LeBreton.

When the cue to adjourn to the Grand Ballroom came about, guests followed suit for the commencement of the pageantry. To initiate the fun, the junior and adult cooks -- the boys and men who were outfitted in the organization's baker suits, and for the men, masks -- darted forth to distribute the printed programs that had been arranged to form "TNR" on the floor. Within, guests perused the names of the 15 boys, the 2009 junior cooks.

"He's so excited to be a junior cook," said smiling grandmother Ann (Mrs. Newton R.) Reynolds about Master Stephen Reynolds. Many other grandmothers and mothers shared similar maternal munificence.

After guests read the names of the 2008 court and the 2009 junior cooks, along with the program notes of the origin of the ball and the role of the Goddess of Chance, aural enthusiasm ensued. The Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra played spirited martial music to open the gallivanting, and then the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Band entertained with a musical medley, capped with the Marine Corps hymn. Hearty applause followed the final notes.

Ovation continued as the white-clad captain arrived accompanied by his lieutenants, who sported rich, jewel-tone colors. Moments later the captain blew his whistle and the king of the ball, the unidentified Lord of Misrule, appeared on the scene to further applause. Under the guidance of the captain, his majesty was taken to the throne to await his '09 co-monarch. But first she had to be selected. Then Miss LeBreton entered for her last royal moments, accompanied by ball chairman Mr. Claiborne Perrilliatt Jr. and vice chairmen Messrs. Bret A. Clesi and Arthur S. Mann III.

In keeping with Twelfth Night's tradition, all unmarried ladies were eligible to dance the first dance and approach the huge TNR confection, which before the beans were given -- gold for the queen and silver for the maids -- had been "cut" by the chief cook with an immense "knife." "If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd 'A Baked a Cake" accompanied his and his assistants' cavorting.

The first dance -- prior to the royal revelation -- was to the tune of "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." Upon her selection and expression of unbounded delight, Miss Schwing and her 19 court maids were escorted away to the tune of "'S Wonderful," only to return in their 2009 Carnival glory. Each one processed alphabetically, with Her Majesty Ellie, wearing the royal accessories of plumed headpiece, lush mantle and glittering collar, as the last one. The audience rose to applaud her.

During the course of the grand march, each maid and her baker escort were followed by a junior cook, several of whom took to the dance floor when their duties were done for a turn with Mom, Grandmother or Sister to Jimmy Maxwell's noteworthiness.

Once the last musical number was played, and the court departed the ballroom, another round of revelry awaited at the home of the Schwings, Tip and Penny. Toasts and adulation became the order of the impromptu queen's supper.

Now that the imaginative curtain has fallen on the Revelers' season-opener, the Carnival one has been raised and will be aloft through Feb. 24. Within that time frame, there will be many merry and magnificent monarchs, all heralded by Queen Ellie and the Lord of Misrule. Once again, the city's subjects will thrill to the annual activity of mirth, majesty and make-believe.

Columnist Nell Nolan can be reached at nnolan@timespicayune.com or at 504.826.3455.